Memorial tops No. 1 Putnam City
It has been five long years since Memorial High School has experienced a state tournament feeling like it did Thursday afternoon.
Maybe it was only appropriate the Chargers player wearing jersey number 30 played a key role in the program's first state tour nament win since 2003. Caleb Green wore number 30 back then and led the Chargers to the 2003 Class 6A state title win over Putnam City.
On Thursday, the current No. 30, Blaise Staab, cemented his name into Memorial's state tournament history.
Staab completed a sterling Chargers comeback by hitting a layup along the left baseline just before time expired to give No. 2 Memorial a 40-38 victory over top-ranked Putnam City in a Class 6A quarterfinal game at Carl Albert High School.
"I'd say Blaise is doing the number proud," Memorial coach Eric Savage said. "He came up with a lot of big plays."
Memorial (23-5) will face defending state champ Midwest City in Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The Bombers used a Chuck
Sanders layup with 15 seconds left to edge Broken Arrow 52-51.
In his team's preparations this week, Savage mentioned the Green-led 2003 club and the similarities this year's team faced. Both teams lost area championship games and had to come back the next night to earn state berths.
But it was Staab and his teammates who rekindled another similarity to 2003. That team relied on solid defense to go along with Green's offensive efficiency. On Thursday, the Chargers (23-5) locked down Putnam City superstar junior Xavier Henry all afternoon and did a thorough job on the rest of the Pirates.
Henry finished with just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting. Henry missed a 3-point shot from the top of the arc with 10 seconds left and the game tied at 38. The miss set up Staab's heroics at the other end of the court.
Memorial's 5-foot-7 point guard L.J. Myers grabbed the long rebound, found Austin Lucas just past midcourt and Lucas hit Staab, who hit the game-winner over two Putnam City defenders.
"I was just trying to get to the basket and try to draw a foul if possible," said Staab, who had a game-high 15 points. "I didn't know how much time was left until I saw the ball go through the basket."
Xavier Henry entered the game averaging 26.6 points this season, but he played the entire game with his left shooting wrist taped. Putnam City coach A.D. Burtschi declined to comment if the wrist bothered Henry.
The defensive job Memorial did in the second half bothered Putnam City (25-2) more, Burtschi said.
Staab said that was an important factor in Memorial's comeback. The Chargers trailed 28-16 at halftime and were down 31-18 midway through the third quarter.
"That's what Memorial basketball is built upon -- defense," Staab said. "Coach Savage tells us that every day at the start of practice."
Memorial forced Putnam City into nine second-half turnovers and held the Pirates to only 2-of-8 shooting. The Pirates also hit just 5-of-11 free throws after halftime.
Savage thought his team would have a chance to win if it was within single digits entering the final quarter. Staab made a pair of layups late in the third quarter to cut Putnam City's lead to 32-25.
"We couldn't take advantage of the opportunities to stretch the lead. We missed a lot of free throws and turned the ball over a lot," Burtschi said. "But give Memorial credit because they made plays in the fourth quarter."
Putnam North 69, Jenks 52: Dennon Mitchell hurt Jenks in last year's 6A quarterfinal with a late 3-pointer that proved to be the difference in the Panthers' 47-43 win. This year, Mitchell hurt the No. 4 Trojans early and often.
The senior scored a game-high 32 points to lead No. 3 Putnam North (21-5). Mitchell had 10 points in the second quarter when the Panthers pulled away from an 11-all tie to build a 33-18 halftime edge.
"That spurt was the difference of the game," said Jenks coach Clay Martin, whose team finished 22-6.
Midwest City 52, Broken Arrow 51: The Bombers (22-5) survived a frantic final minute to down the Tigers (19-8). James Davis made 1-of-2 free throws with 42.7 seconds left to give Midwest City a 50-49 lead.
Broken Arrow's Kendall Barrs converted a transition layup seven seconds later to give the Tigers the 51-50 advantage. Bombers point guard Jarrod McDaniel, who had a team-high 17 points, penetrated into the lane and dished to an open Sanders for the go-ahead layup. McDaniel secured the win with a steal with four seconds left and dribbled out the clock.
Edmond Santa Fe 69, Union 54: The Wolves (19-8) led the entire game in advancing to the 9 p.m. Friday semifinal against Putnam North.
Nic Combs made five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points for Santa Fe. Union (17-8) was led by Antonio Ross' 19 points.
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